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{
    "id": 419098,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/419098/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 141,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Dr.) Eseli",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 141,
        "legal_name": "David Eseli Simiyu",
        "slug": "david-eseli"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this chance to add my voice to this amendment Bill by hon. Ng’ongo. I think hon. Ng’ongo thought very keenly as to what he wanted to achieve by this Bill. I would say that the VAT Act as it is now is a danger to health care in this country. You can import an ambulance duty free, but if you try to get one locally, you will pay duty. This is very unfortunate. In the last Parliament, and perhaps that is one of the reasons why I managed to come back to this Parliament, I provided close to four ambulances for various medical centres in my constituency. These were actually Pick-ups converted into ambulances. If you want to get such ambulances now, you have to go to DT Dobie, get that Pickup and pay duty before it goes for conversion. So, the price becomes too high. That also interferes with the local manufacturers’ growth. If people want to start manufacturing these ambulances, they should be given a chance to do it. If you want that ambulance to be converted locally, you pay duty on it. What is brought out in the Bill is quite good and will go a long way in alleviating poor health in this country. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the other thing that hon. Ng’ongo needs to do - but if he does not I will do it at the Committee stage - is to introduce an amendment to remove VAT from inputs for drug manufacturing. This is because manufacturing medicines in this country has become so expensive because the raw materials are charged VAT. When you import already manufactured medicines, there is no VAT on them, but when you try to manufacture medicines locally, there is VAT on them. Therefore, you The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}